im Axle Specialists

Technical Headlight upgrade

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Technical Headlight upgrade

Kirbs said:
Yes as a matter of fact I have, Adrian Flux noted it on their records and never batted an eyelid (or, more importantly, increased my premium).
What makes believe they're illegal if mine were then they could not have passed the MOT?:confused:
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Adrian Flux huh.... good luck with that if you come to claim!

I felt the pain that is Average Fux car insurance when an uninsured drunk driver hit my mini and I claimed on my fully comp! Took 3 months of write off/no we'll fix it/ no its a write off/ no we'll fix it/ can't you claim on other parties insurance/ we'll fix it/ no its a write off! blah blah blah!

Won't ever use them again... and wouldn't recommend them to anyone either. Customer care? Who needs it when they've already got your premium!

HID lights if factory fitted are legal, if aftermarket then they will undoubtedly be illegal. It won't be picked up in the MOT as they only test the beam pattern, your insurance company won't say anything until in the unfortunate event you have an accident and the other driver claims they were blinded by your lights! Ignorance is not an excuse! Unless your an insurance company!

However as I said in my opening topic, I don't want to know about HID, I want to know about upgraded bulbs! So umm... get off my topic! lol ;)
 
StiloBoy said:
Adrian Flux huh.... good luck with that if you come to claim!

I felt the pain that is Average Fux car insurance when an uninsured drunk driver hit my mini and I claimed on my fully comp! Took 3 months of write off/no we'll fix it/ no its a write off/ no we'll fix it/ can't you claim on other parties insurance/ we'll fix it/ no its a write off! blah blah blah!

Won't ever use them again... and wouldn't recommend them to anyone either. Customer care? Who needs it when they've already got your premium!

HID lights if factory fitted are legal, if aftermarket then they will undoubtedly be illegal. It won't be picked up in the MOT as they only test the beam pattern, your insurance company won't say anything until in the unfortunate event you have an accident and the other driver claims they were blinded by your lights! Ignorance is not an excuse! Unless your an insurance company!

However as I said in my opening topic, I don't want to know about HID, I want to know about upgraded bulbs! So umm... get off my topic! lol ;)
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Just to add a little fire, majority of aftermarket HIDs state that the product is for "off road" or "show use" only. Yes they're E marked and all that, but i've never seen a kit which says they are road legal.

It's your preference StiloBoy but i'd go for the Philip Extremes. :slayer:
 
chicken_chau_mein said:
Just to add a little fire, majority of aftermarket HIDs state that the product is for "off road" or "show use" only. Yes they're E marked and all that, but i've never seen a kit which says they are road legal.

It's your preference StiloBoy but i'd go for the Philip Extremes. :slayer:
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'E' marked means that it is road legal ;) As long as its use complys with law (y)
 
Sorry for such a dumb question what does HID stand for and why must you have headlamp washers fitted if you have them sounds stupid to me :confused:
 
High Intensity Discharge... basically its an arc light.

You need to have headlamp washers to keep the lights clean and avoid blinding oncoming traffic. You also need head light motors that auto level the lights, for the same reason.

Hence the reason uprated light units only is illegal and will always be illegal.

When driving towards someone with these lights that are not legal its like driving towards them with their lights on hi-beams the whole time.
 
chicken_chau_mein said:
For me there's only choice, Philips Extreme +80%. The first set i had, one blew after only a few months so i changed for the Osram Nightbreakers +90%. A few months later, BOTH of them blew at the same time! I've gone back to the Philips now. I feel they look a little bit whiter and produce better light.
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I fitted up a set of Osram nightbreakers tonight! set of H1 and H7's! What a difference! Pardon the pun but its like night and day!

If I get a chance tomorrow i'll post up some pics which might show what I mean!

As for fitting the lights, whats all the hubbub about, fitted passenger sided bulbs in a matter on minutes! Only disassembly was unbolted the screenwash bottle so I could move it back and Inch.

Drivers side took about 40mins, but part of that was because I fitted a bult the wrong way up and stripped and refitted. Took off batter cover, that was it! Only real issue was replacing cap over rear of cluster, bit of a pig to align! Sussed it though, jacked the car us, and fitted it from below! 2mins is all it took!

Spent 2 hours working on car tonight, fitted xcarlink and played with it for a while then fitted 4 bulbs! Nothing quite so rewarding as a job well done! So I took the car out for a test as it was dark when I'd finished (8pm and its dark...what the hell), and treated myself to chips for tea lol.
 
I've got to say I've got Phil's;) set and the difference they make to your driving experience is awsome:worship:(y) and like stiloboy said they're a dodle to fit only cos we own we lickle :yum:1.2s:eek: but they're great all the same:D
 
Horrible experience with Osram NBs (+90% if I recall well), although they are incredible bright. Died after 2 months tops, although on long lights they still work (second year).

On main beam lights NBs were replaced with Philips Vision Plus (I think +50%), and they still work.
 
I'll keep you posted on bulb live longevity!

I thought the battery box on Stilo's were the same size regardless of engine capacity?

Glad I've got a 1.2 though if it really is the case that fitting lights is easier! Maybe its because I own a classic mini too and that i'm used to finger tip only work in area's of the engine bay you cant actually see what your doing! I've accomplished fingertip yoga grandmaster! lol
 
Not sure if the following shows much but here are a couple of pics. Dipped and mainbeam illuminated, first pic should be before bulb change and second pic is after upgrade to Osram Nightbreakers 90%+

I think all that can safely be taken from the pics of my legs lol is that the lights are far whiter than before, but then my old bulbs were OEM and they'd been in the car 6 years, they were showing wear when I took them out of the car too (discoloured, starting to brown with use).
 

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Looks like a very good improvement there. Hopefully your Nightbreakers will actually last. I was generally pleased with their performance, until they both went!
 
salt anyone? xenon lamps from scrappy :p

Still puts a smurk on my face with what i got my wagon for and the kit it has on it with low mileage
 
StiloBoy said:
Not sure if the following shows much but here are a couple of pics. Dipped and mainbeam illuminated, first pic should be before bulb change and second pic is after upgrade to Osram Nightbreakers 90%+

I think all that can safely be taken from the pics of my legs lol is that the lights are far whiter than before, but then my old bulbs were OEM and they'd been in the car 6 years, they were showing wear when I took them out of the car too (discoloured, starting to brown with use).
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I must get around to fitting mine, just brought a set of nightbrakers (y)
 
Well worth it.... you've got a 1.4 right? So shouldn't be any more bother than I had! Who said tiddly engines were bad.

Driver side I unbolted screenwash bottle at the top, which allows you to push the bottle back into the engine bay an inch which makes fitting the passenger side bulbs a doddle! Remember to bolt it back up when your done.

Passenger side, take off battery cover, fortunately the battery box is quite pliable so just push it back as you put your hand in, tight fit but not impossible. Personally when I took off the light cover its easier to just drop it and pick it up underneath the car that try to squeeze it and your hand out from the engine bay lol.

Pay attention to which way you bring the bulbs out, makes fitting the new bulbs far easier.

Also best tip I have, when it comes to fitting the light cover on the passengers side, don't attempt it from above. Jack the car up, axle stand under it. Shine an inspection lamp up from the ground to the back of the light unit, and fit the cover from below, then clip the metal bar into place from above. 2 minutes that bit will take rather than the 30mins of faffing I had before I thought of trying it from below.

I may have had an unfair advantage as 9 years of mini ownership have meant I've accomplished double jointed double joints! And my sense of touch is second to none, having fitted such things as an exhaust without jacking the car by touch alone in the pitch black of a country road at least once. ;)
 
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Remember, patience and a steady hand rule the roost! Wear latex gloves so you don't leave greasy finger prints on the bulbs (its easy to touch the glass when trying to fit), and be gentle when fitting the bulbs as the hole to fit the bulb through is quite tight! I scuffed off a lot of the protective coating on the tip of the old bulbs taking them out. Fortunately putting in the new bulbs is easier as the Osrams are a few mm shorter than the OEM ones, and the glass nipple tip is smaller too (ooo errr).
 
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